“I let myself lose focus”: Mbappé blames referee Facundo Tello and clarifies whether he will play in the semifinals
Kylian Mbappé, figure of the France team, very soon found the justification for the penalty that he delivered into the hands of the Moroccan goalkeeper
Kylian Mbappé went from anguish to glory. The French forward overcame the moments of uncertainty after missing the penalty that would have eliminated Morocco earlier, and ended up becoming the bastion of France's 2-0 victory to advance to the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup.
However, the missed penalty left a bitter taste in the Real Madrid star's circle. The frustration found an immediate culprit: the Argentine referee Facundo Tello, who is accused of having deliberately distracted him before the charge.
Mbappé's strong accusation against Facundo Tello
Mbappé himself did not remain silent at the end of the match and explained what happened in the play that could have changed the fate of the match: "I didn't shoot it well, but it was complicated. There was a mess with the referee. He told me there was a penalty, I prepared myself, but he came back to tell me no... I let myself lose concentration," said the 'Bleus' figure. Alarm over his injury: Will he miss the semifinals?
Mbappé knows perfectly well the impact of his words. For this reason, he sent a message of calm to the French fans, not only for the missed shot, but for the blow that forced his premature exit from the field of play. "I'm fine, I received a blow to my ankle, but I'm fine. At that moment, JP (Jean-Philippe Mateta) was in better shape than me to play the last 15 minutes; I went out and he came in. It's good, he almost scored too," he explained to turn off the medical alarms. The pain of eliminating his best friend
The duel also had a sentimental overtone. Mbappé had to leave out Achraf Hakimi, his teammate and close friend, with whom he exchanged words at the final whistle: "I don't feel anything (on the field), I'm here to win, he was here to win. It will be more difficult when I see him again in the locker room because he is a very close friend." France's ultimate goal: Relaxing is prohibited.
Despite the euphoria of being among the top four in the world, Kylian keeps his feet on the ground and warns that the World Cup is not over yet.
"Mission? I don't know. There is no room for complacency. There is only one way to relax, and that is to win. We are in the semifinals and very happy, but what awaits us is even more difficult than what we just faced. We will recover well and we are prepared," he concluded bluntly.